"Author's Corner":
Cinema Retro invites authors to contribute a first-hand account of how they
were inspired to write their book. Our guest contributor today is Julian
Schlossberg, author of "Try Not to Hold It Against Me: A Producer's
Life" (Beaufort Books). (Click
here for Cinema Retro's review of the book.)
A producer had better be working on several things at the
same time. As they say, throw a bunch of spaghetti against the wall and
hope that some of it sticks. But in 2021, with the pandemic raging, nothing was
sticking. I felt the need to put all my projects on hold. So what is a producer
to do with all of that free time and energy? He looks back. He
shares stories. Prior to that, whenever I would share some anecdote
related to my sixty years in show business, I was often asked “are you
writing a book?” I had always answered truthfully that I was too
busy. Well, now, with the pandemic, busy, I wasn’t. So I sat down and
wrote just one chapter. It was a story I had told for years and that had
made my wife Merryn laugh, even though she had heard me tell it countless
times. I then wrote another. And another. I would read each new
chapter to Merryn and two women who are my frequent collaborators and, have
become, like sisters to me, Marlo Thomas and Elaine May. These three
women were very important to my process. Eventually Elaine would
contribute the foreword to my book.
The past started flooding back and I found myself
downloading incidents I had forgotten. The more I wrote, the more I
began to realize that I had many reasons for bring my story to the page. In
looking back, I wanted to transport readers of my generation back to a time
that will never come again. I wanted to share my experiences with a younger
generation that might enjoy reading about a totally different world that once
existed. This was a time when there was only three television
networks. A time when people still dressed up to go to the movies
(especially if it was a musical!). A time when I thought I could do anything,
because I was still young and inexperienced enough to have not considered the
alternative.
Beyond the nostalgia, I knew that I wanted my story to entertain, and perhaps,
even inspire. Having produced movies, television and theater, I wanted to
write about my personal experiences working in all three mediums. I would
recount in some detail how a play, a movie and a television show is produced
from the ground up. I would share my experiences learning the trade from
the ground up, and recall my collaborations, encounters and, in some cases,
friendships with the likes of Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, Shirley
MacLaine, Bruce Springsteen, Elia Kazan, Sid Caesar, Orson Welles, Al
Pacino, Burt Reynolds, Lillian Hellman, Bette Davis, Alfred Hitchcock, Jack
Nicholson, Bob Hope, Ethan Coen, George Burns, Sid Caesar, Steve Allen,
Larry Gelbart and many others.
Just writing such a list humbles me, and looking back, I am still amazed by my
unexpected trajectory. When I was just starting out, I drove a taxi for a
living. To keep alert while picking up late night fares, I would listen
to comedy legends on the radio; talents like Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Woody
Allen and Alan Arkin. I dreamed that I might one day meet them and tell them
how much I admired their talent. The fact that I ended up producing for
them, to this day, boggles my mind.
But before I became a producer, my first showbiz job was working at the ABC-TV
network. There, I decided to learn all I could about the entertainment
business. I didn’t have a medical, accounting or law degree. But I
knew knowledge was power, and if I could attain knowledge perhaps I could
attain some power. So I became my own kind of hyphenate. I was a TV
network executive—motion picture syndicator—V.P. of a theater chain— V.P. of a
major film studio—owner of a production and film distribution company.
And after that, my list of hyphenated job titles grew to include
producer—director—radio host—TV host—co-owner of a record company—talent
manager—producer representative—lecturer-teacher.
And, now, finally, I can say that I’m an author too. Who would have thought
that the cabbie from the Bronx would one day author a memoir titled Try
Not To Hold It Against Me – A Producer’s Life? Who’d have thought that
anyone would want to read it? Certainly not me. But with the book having
sold out on Amazon within days of its initial release, and a second printing on
order, I guess people are reading. I’m awe-struck and I couldn’t be more
pleased or grateful.
Since this is a cinema site, I’ll close with a memory that I include in the new
book. I describe my experience of working, distantly, with Martin
Scorsese and Federico Fellini. I close that particular chapter with this
recollection: “It meant a lot to me to present a Fellini film with
Scorsese. I was proud to be associated with both of them. But I
also knew how to answer the question often posed in elementary school tests,
‘which one doesn’t belong’.”
I suppose, despite my 60 years in
the business, I will always see myself as the kid from the Bronx who
wanted to get into show business …but try not to hold it against me.
(PR contact for Julian Schlossberg: Brett Oberman at
Keith Sherman & Associates: brett@ksa-pr.com)
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